--- title: Climate change growth: How Global Warming Affects Economy description: Temperature rise due to climate change may radically damage the global economy and slow growth in the coming decades canonical: https://time.com/4082328/climate-change-economic-impact/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-22T16:06:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:57:23.529Z article:section: Science og:title: How climate change could make you poorer: og:description: Temperature rise due to climate change may radically damage the global economy and slow growth in the coming decades og:url: https://time.com/4082328/climate-change-economic-impact/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt700a4d8846651323/69886961196cf4f5d4038a10/wind-climate-change-growth.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5692 og:image:height: 3202 og:image:alt: wind climate change og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How climate change could make you poorer: twitter:description: Temperature rise due to climate change may radically damage the global economy and slow growth in the coming decades twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt700a4d8846651323/69886961196cf4f5d4038a10/wind-climate-change-growth.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Climate Change Could Wreck the Global Economy > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=25a057be-67d6-4b6d-8e1c-f6c01c93fa01&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Is Climate Change Causing Extreme Weather? [Watch (HLS stream): Is Climate Change Causing Extreme Weather?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LQufbOt9.m3u8) (2:04)  _Published 2013-11-11. Is the frequency of extreme weather events a sign that global warming is gaining pace and exceeding predictions? Climate scientist Bill Patzert explains._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Oct 22, 2015 4:06 PM UTC  Wind turbines and distant view of browncoal fired power station on horizon, Allrath, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany Wind turbines and distant view of browncoal fired power station on horizon, Allrath, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Oct 22, 2015 4:06 PM UTC Temperature rise due to climate change may radically damage the global economy and slow growth in the coming decades if nothing is done to slow the pace of warming, according to new research. The researchers behind the [study](http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature15725.html), published in the journal _Nature_, found that temperature change due to unmitigated global warming will leave global GDP per capita 23% lower in 2100 than it would be without any warming. “We’re basically throwing away money by not addressing the issue,” said Marshall Burke, an assistant professor at Stanford University. “We see our study as providing an estimate of the benefits of reducing emissions.” **Read More**: [Here’s Where to Buy a House In the U.S. That Will Be Resilient to Climate Change](http://time.com/3964807/climate-change-resilience/) The economic effects of climate change may be even worse than this study makes them sounds. The research relies on historical data from countries around the world on how temperature increase has affected productivity. This means the study does not account for the economic impact of sea level rise, storms or any of the other expected effects of climate change beyond simple warming. “Sea level rise, increased storm intensity…if you think those things are going to worsen the effects of climate change, then our estimates would be an underestimate of the potential impacts, which is sort of terrifying,” said Burke. This study is far from the first to suggest that climate change will slow economic growth. [Big business](http://time.com/4045572/big-business-climate-change/) has been especially keen on highlighting the potential damage. A Citigroup [report](https://ir.citi.com/hsq32Jl1m4aIzicMqH8sBkPnbsqfnwy4Jgb1J2kIPYWIw5eM8yD3FY9VbGpK%2Baax) released last month found that minimizing temperature rises to 2.7ºF (1.5ºC) could minimize global GDP loss by $50 trillion compared to a rise of 8.1ºF (4.5ºC) in the coming decades. The study breaks down productivity into agricultural and non-agricultural fields. The effect of agricultural productive is easy to explain: crops grow most productively within a certain temperature range. (The effects of warming on [crop productivity](http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/sectors/agriculture) have been well documented.) But research still don’t know why warm weather decreases productivity for workers in other fields. The anticipated spike in temperatures will not affect the world evenly, according to the study. Productivity peaks when temperatures in a given region average 55ºF (13ºC), meaning warming may actually increase productivity in cold northern countries while devastating the tropics. That means climate change could also worsen global inequality—northern countries are in general already better off than tropical ones. The study comes just weeks before negotiators from around the world are scheduled to meet at a United Nations conference on climate change in Paris later this year. University of Gothenburg Professor Thomas Sterner, who wrote an [editorial](http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature15643.html) to accompany the study, said he hopes the new evidence of the economic effects will encourage leaders of developing countries to agree to strong action to address climate change. “The situation is pretty bleak,” said Sterner. “This is really a call to action.” ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] [00:13] Extreme weather was more frequent in recent years. Is [00:16] it a sign that global warming is gaining pace and [00:19] exceeding predictions? Now, has extreme weather [00:23] been more frequent in recent years? The evidence is [00:26] definitely to the contrary. The United States has always [00:30] had extreme weather. We look back on our weather [00:32] history. It's been punishing. Floods, droughts, [00:37] tornadoes, hurricanes, great forest fires. Is global [00:41] warming happening? No doubt about it. We're living in [00:44] a warmer world. We're living in a melting world, sea [00:47] levels are rising. Now, direct evidence of [00:51] the foot print or the finger print of global warming, [00:55] we're seeing more frequent, more intense and longer [00:58] lasting heat waves. As far as hurricanes, tornadoes, [01:04] forest fires, floods and drought; the evidence is [01:08] definitely not in. The consensus among almost all [01:12] scientists is, is that it's a small finger print, not a [01:16] large foot print. But what is true is [01:20] that in this country, in the United States, we live in [01:24] many areas with great risk to drought, [ NOISE ] [01:28] to tornadoes, to hurricanes. And so part of the dialog [01:32] is not only extreme weather and global warming but [01:36] is the amount of risk we can tolerate. Now, looking to [01:40] the future, global change, global [01:44] warming it definitely is accelerating and it will have an [01:48] impact on extreme weather. But at this point, not [01:52] much. 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